'Fine details and little bits' will move Mercedes ahead – Bottas

Valtteri Bottas says that when it comes to Mercedes coming out on top this season, the devil will likely be in how the team handles the fine details.

Lewis Hamilton brought the German outfit its first win of 2018 in Baku following Sebastian Vettel and Ferrari's dominance in Australia and Bahrain and Daniel Ricciardo's victory in China.

Hamilton's 63rd Grand Prix triumph was a lucky one however and only came about as a result of Bottas' misfortune when the Finn was sidelined by a puncture caused by debris while leading the race with just over two laps to go.

It was a bitter blow for the Finn, on the verge of his fourth F1 win, but the hardship hasn't knocked the wind out of his sails.

• Valtteri Bottas awarded the Trofeo Lorenzo Bandini

“Of course it was disappointing, but life and especially motorsport includes disappointments,” said the Silver Arrows driver when he picked up his prestigious Trofeo Lorenzon Bandini in Italy on Saturday.

“I always find that disappointment can be your best opportunity to be stronger if you take it the right way. So I am planning to be even stronger next weekend and for the rest of the year.”

On his team's relative under-performance so far, Bottas knew it was going to be a fierce battle this season between Mercedes and its rival front-runners.

But the 28-year-old is confident his outfit's meticulous approach and relentless determination coupled with its strong team spirit will bring it back to the fore, and keep it there.

“This is F1, it is competitive and when the regulations stay more or less the same, it is always going to get tighter,” he said.

“There are three big teams now which we expected to be close.

“What we need to do is keep looking into the fine details, and learning even little bits, even one hundredth of a second at a time.

“If we can find those regularly, from all the areas – especially from our weaknesses – that is going to bring us far.”

“If I have to say one thing that we need to do to get to the top, it is teamwork,” he said. “Keeping working as a team, as the team has always done, because together you can do so much more than alone.”

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